Coffee Filter Crafts for Kids: Coffee Filter Hot Air Balloon Craft

When the boys were younger, one of their favorite episodes of Thomas the Tank Engine was “James and the Red Balloon”. This was one of the episodes in the classic series. The one with the toy trains.

They used to say that they wanted to fly in a hot air balloon. And I’d say, “Yeah, maybe one day.”

Well, until then, I thought they’d like to make another one of our coffee filter crafts for kids – a fun hot air balloon craft! That way, they can get a tiny version of their flying-in-a-hot-air-balloon fix and I won’t have a heart attack worrying about them. Sounds like a fair deal to me.

This was a really fun craft to make. Kids may need a little help shaping their balloons, but after that, they’re good to go!

To get started, use your hands to flatten out the coffee filter as best you can. Then decide what colors you’d like to use to color it.

I wanted to make a cheery balloon, so I went with yellow and red-violet for contrast. But the kids can use any colors they like.

Take your contrasting color and draw a design on the coffee filter.

Then color it in.

Color the rest of the filter with your main color crayon.

Now it’s time to shape the balloon! Take the safety scissors and, starting from the bottom center, cut a modified funnel shape.

What you’re looking for is a small opening at the bottom that widens to the full dome shape at the top. It might take a few tries to get this right, but it’s okay. We’re just crafting here. 🙂 To make it easier, flip the filter over and trace this shape in pencil for the kids to cut out.

Now, use a brown crayon to draw the passenger basket hanging from the bottom.

Use a white crayon to add a few puffy white clouds in the sky and you’re done!

Take a look at these other easy crafts for kids!

Get even more easy crafting ideas on my Simple Crafts for Kids Pinterest board!